Every Killjoy's Dream: A My Chemical Romance Fanfic
by MistyNinja
Summary: A young girl's dream comes true when a terrible event unites her with her favorite band, My Chemical Romance.
1. Chapter 1: The Concert

_**My first fanfic! I had a dream about My Chemical Romance, so I decided to write about it. Enjoy!_

"5 minutes, Ara!" my dad shouted from downstairs.

I grinned with excitement. I was finally going to a My Chemical Romance concert! I looked in the mirror and straightened my homemade "I'm Not Okay" t-shirt and touched up my eyeliner. I picked up my Party Poison mask I had my best friend make and carefully put it on. I smiled widely as I realized what an enormous obsession I had with the band.

"Time to go!" Dad yelled.

"Coming!" I flew down the stairs and out the door to the car. Dad laughed.

"Excited much?"

I blushed. "Just a little."

Ten minutes later, we arrived at the amphitheater where the concert was being performed. There was a huge line, but the premium ticket I had gotten 6 months earlier got us in immediately. Dad went up into the balcony and I practically skipped all the way to the front row. Teenagers kept flooding in while most of the parents went to the top. I couldn't believe the amount of people!

Then the lights went dark. A tremendous roar arose from the crowd as the band walked out on stage. There they were! Gerard, Mikey, Ray, Frank, and Mike (the new drummer) burst onto stage.

"Wow, it's like there's nobody here tonight! It's so quiet in here!" Gerard said with a bored voice. My heart melted as I realized how close I was to him. We yelled for the next hour and a half through the entire concert. It was the most amazing thing ever!

After the concert, I found my dad and we started to walk out. I noticed a large group forming by the side of the building.

"Autograph signing," Dad said.

I looked at him and silently pleaded to him to let me get in line.

"Sorry, but we have to go home," He said, crushing me.

I looked back wistfully. I could see the members of the band sitting at a table while Gerard stood in front of it. I glanced at the crowd, and then tore my eyes away. Then looked back. A movement had caught my eye. I realized instantly what it was

A large man in a black trench coat was slowly forcing his way through the crowd. Nobody else was really paying attention to him. As I watched him, I saw him slip his hand into the fold of his coat, and pull out a shining metal object. A gun. He raised it discreetly, pointing it straight at Gerard.

All thought stopped: I had to save him. I turned and ran as fast as I could towards the oblivious Gerard. As I got closer, security guards tried to grad me. I ducked under their arms and kept running. When I was about twenty feet away, I noticed two things. One, that the man with the gun was almost to the front of the crowd. Two, there was a plastic chair in front of Gerard. Still running, I screamed Gerard's name at the top of my lungs. He backed up in surprise. I leapt and jumped onto the chair, letting momentum take my through the air. A loud blast of sound, a sharp and piercing pain in my left shoulder, and I was lying on the ground.

I was on my back, my uninjured shoulder facing the crowd. I looked at it (the crowd). The man was at the front, gun still raised. Some people next to him (who must have realized what happened) grabbed his arms and forced him to the ground. One kid kicked the gun out of his hand. It skidded across the concrete and stopped by a nearby security guard's foot.

Suddenly, I felt a presence. A warm, strong energy coming from beside me. An oddly wonderful scent of cigarette smoke, cologne, and sweat reached my nose. I slowly turned my head. The subtle motion alone started to make me black out. Before I lost conscientiousness, I opened my eyes. They met with a pair of gorgeous hazel eyes. Gerard Way's face, filled with concern, was the fresh in my mind as my vision slowly faded to black.


	2. Chapter 2: In the Hospital

I woke up in a bright white room in a strange bed. What had happened? Then memory came flooding back: the concert, the man, the gun, Gerard…

Clearing my head, I realized I was in a hospital room. My left shoulder was in a cast. My head throbbed painfully. I glanced down at my folded hands (I was tilted up slightly in the bed) and saw a bouquet of black and red roses underneath them, like I was a corpse. I blinked a few times, surprised. Who would have put these here? I brought one hand to my face to cover it so I could think. Before I could, a voice said "Don't! I did your makeup while you slept."

As you might expect, I jumped when I heard the voice. Then I froze. I knew that voice. I looked to my right.

Gerard was sitting in a chair beside my bed, looking at me. His beautiful hazel eyes were locked on my face. My hand dropped back into my lap. I said something real intelligent like "Wa.., um… uh…"

Gerard smiled. "I asked them if I could be here when you woke up. I needed to ask you something."

"Sure" I managed.

He locked eyes with me. "Why did you take that bullet for me?"

I swallowed hard. "You've saved me before. With your music. I was returning the favor. I wanted you to keep saving lives."

He kept looking at me for a moment. "Thank you," he said after the silence.

"Your welcome," I breathed.

"Mind if I stay?" he asked.

I shook my head slowly. He settled into his chair. After a minute or two, he spoke again. "Hey, wanna see how I did your makeup?" he said with a half smile.

"Yeah," I replied. Gerard had done my makeup? While I was uncontious? Ok. Gerard found a small hand mirror in a drawer by the door. He held it up for me.

My face looked unrecognizable. My skin was pale, like a corpse. My eyes were ringed by black and shadowed by dark gray. My lips were a bright red. My hair had been brushed and curled into ringlets. Gerard had recreated Helena.

I looked at him, amazed. "You did this?"

"Yeah. Does it look okay?"

"Its fantastic!"

"Thanks," he said, sitting back down. "I did the flowers too"

I looked down at the bouquet. "Its lovely."

Just then, a nurse came in. "Oh! You aren't supposed to be awake yet! You have a mild concussion: you need sleep!" She rushed over to my bedside and injected something into an IV drip I had only noticed then. I instantly felt my eyelids grow heavy. The nurse left, leaving me with Gerard.

"Goodnight, Ara," he said softly.

I blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3: Waking Up

When I woke up, Gerard wasn't in the room and doctors and nurses surrounded me. As soon as they saw I was awake, they assaulted me with questions about pain levels and if I could see okay. I answered the questions but my mind was racing. Had I dreamed the whole conversation with Gerard? Was the entire encounter with him a figment of my imagination?

The doctors and nurses retreated from the room after several more minutes of questioning. Shortly after they left, my dad came in.

"How ya feeling?" he asked, sitting at the foot of my bed.

"Okay," I replied. "Gerard…"

"Him and the rest of the band are in the hall. I didn't want them to overwhelm you. Do you want me to tell them to leave or…"

"No!" I said, interrupting him. "No, don't send them away."

He smiled cautiously. "Would you want me to bring them in?"

I nodded.

"Okay. Back in a sec." Dad touched my forehead, like he used to when I was a little girl, and walked out of the room. My heart drummed against my ribs. I was about to meet the rest of the band that had saved my life when I had been depressed 2 years ago. I couldn't believe my luck.

A moment later, I heard footsteps in the hall, coming towards my room. The door opened slowly and Gerard walked in, his usual faint smile on his lips.

"Your makeup still looks good," he said. So it hadn't been a dream. This thought filled me with joy. I wasn't crazy!

It only got better from there. Behind Gerard was Ray (in all his fro-licious glory), who walked in and shyly raised his hand in greeting. I returned the gesture in an almost trance-like state.

Behind Ray was Frank, who looked shorter than he had on stage. I knew he was only two inches taller than me (he was only 5"6'), and I smiled, trying not to laugh. Thinking it was a smile of welcome, he smiled back at me, which nearly stopped my heart.

Following Frank was Mikey, poker faced as always, but there was something else there too. Whether it was confliction, confusion, pity, or anger, I couldn't tell. I gave him a small wave and his face lightened a bit.

Last was there new drummer, Mike. He had been full of energy on stage, but he seemed drained as he walked in, not even glancing at me. I had a weird feeling about him, but I let it pass.

"Mind if we stay?" asked Frank.

"Not at all," I said in the strongest voice I could muster.

Gerard sat down at his usual seat, closest to my head on my right side. Frank sat down beside him (which made me think of Frerard, of course), and Mikey sat beside Frank. Ray and Mike sat in the chairs to the left of my bed. I felt odd being surrounded by the band that I so deeply admired while I lay in a sickbed with an injured shoulder. I felt as if I were a random and useless object on a beautiful work of art. A moustache on the Mona Lisa.

Dad walked in as soon as they had sat down. Ignoring them, he looked at me and said "I'm going to go meet up with some of the family for lunch. I will be back in about 45 minutes. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine, Dad" I replied. I couldn't believe he had to be an overprotective, over-caring father right then. I felt extremely embarrassed.

"Okay…" he said warily, and then backed out of the room, shutting the door.

"So," said Mikey, staring unblinkingly at me. "We meet the hero."

_************Thanks to all of you reading this! I really appreciate you reading my writing! Writing means a lot to me and I'm glad I could share it with the people of the Internet. Sorry these chapters are so short, but I usually post 2 at a time. I hope you are enjoying this so far! Pleeeease leave a review! Thanks! 3333_


	4. Chapter 4: Talking

The room was silent, Mikey's comment hanging in the air. After a slightly awkward silence I whispered, "I'm no hero."

"Are you kidding? Ara, you saved my life!" cried Gerard. His voice had cracked a bit at the end. He put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. When he spoke, his words were muffled. "I should have never let this happen. This is all my fault."

Automatically, my hand went out to touch him and comfort him. My arm was just long enough to where I could rest my hand on his shoulder. He tensed slightly at my touch.

"It isn't your fault, Gerard," I said with a voice that sounded much stronger than I felt. "I was the one who jumped in front of you."

"It was nobody's fault," Ray said sharply "but that evil, stupid man's, who tried to kill somebody with no reason."

Gerard looked up. I let my hand drop off of his shoulder. He sat back and leaned his head against the wall and looked intently at the ceiling. Frank placed a hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon, Gerard. Everything's fine now! Ara's okay, your okay, the band is still going strong… you have nothing to worry about."

Gerard looked at him, annoyed. Frank let his hand drop.

"I'll go get you some coffee…" Frank said and walked out the door, shutting it softly.

"Why does everyone think I always want coffee?" Gerard mumbled.

"Because you do always want coffee," responded Ray.

I laughed, making Ray and Gerard smile.

"Okay, so maybe things aren't that bad," said Gerard, "But you're still hurt."

I wiggled my left shoulder a bit. "It's not bad. It only hurts a little. The doctors told me the bullet didn't go deep, and they already had it surgically removed. I should be free to go in about a day,"

"What about your head?" said Mikey, barely audible.

"I just can't move too fast, but it's alright."

Frank walked in with the coffee. "I got you one too, Mikey."

Gerard and Mikey's eyes lit up as Frank handed each of them their cup. They took sips so greedily, I laughed.

"And you guys wonder why your fans have made so many memes about your coffee addictions…" I said.

They glared at me, clutching their cups. This time, everyone but them laughed.

We talked for a while about the concert. I commented on improvements that could be made on the audio, which Ray listened closely to. We laughed over Frank's crazy antics on stage, especially one.

At some point during the concert, Ray was on his knees, playing guitar and headbanging, and Gerard had one foot on Ray's back. Frank had thought it was a good idea to jump in front of Gerard and over Ray, while still playing his guitar. When he attempted the jump however, Gerard (not seeing Frank) dramatically kicked his foot in the air, kicking Frank in the balls.

"It was payback for when you kicked _me_ in the balls back in '04," Gerard said.

Eventually, we got on the topic of songs. The band wanted to know which song of theirs was my favorite.

"Probably SING, as far as songs go," I said thoughtfully. "But I love _Look Alive, Sunshine_."

"Do you know all the words?" Mikey said challengingly.

I straightened up in bed and recited in my best Dr, Death Defying voice:

_**"Look Alive, Sunshine**_

_**109 in the sky but the pigs won't quit**_

_**You're here with me, Dr. Death Defying**_

_**I'll be your surgeon, your proctor, your helicopter**_

_**Pumping out the slaughtermatic sounds to keep you alive**_

_**System failure for the masses, anti matter for the master plan**_

_**Louder than God's revolver and twice as shiny**_

_**This one's for all you rock-and-rollers**_

_**All you crash-queens and motor babies**_

_**Listen up!**_

_**The future is bulletproof**_

_**The aftermath is secondary **_

_**It's time to do it now and do it loud**_

_**Killjoys, make some noise!"**_

The band applauded and I bowed playfully.

"That was pretty good," Frank said.

"Thanks!" I replied, smiling.

Gerard's eyes widened suddenly, like he had an idea, but then his face went blank. It was so sudden, I couldn't be sure if it had actually happened, until he said "Guys? Could we talk for a sec? In the hall?"

The members of the band looked at each other, confused,

"Uh, sure," Frank said slowly. They all stood up.

"We'll be right back, Ara," Gerard said.

"Okay…" I said.

They walked out, leaving me confused. What could Gerard possibly have to talk to them about right then? A few minutes later, I got my answer.

They all came in and sat back down in their seats. Mikey closed the door behind them. Gerard was staring at me. I looked back at him, gazing into his eyes,

"Ara," he said quietly. "Would you like to go on tour with us?".


	5. Chapter 5: Making Plans

My jaw dropped. I quickly closed it. My mind raced. Me, Ara, go on tour with My Chemical Romance?

"If you don't want to you don't have…" started Gerard.

"No! No, I'd love to! It would be amazing!" I said, cutting him off. "Of course, I'll have to convince my dad." This sounded easy, but this was NOT something my dad easily agreed to.

"Definitely," said Gerard. "I wouldn't let Bandit just go off on tour with some band."

I nodded, smiling at the mention of his adorable daughter. "I'll talk to him."

I realized that the other band members were looking at me. "Is it okay with you guys if I… you know… toured with you?" I asked, looking at everyone but Gerard. They all started talking at once.

"I don't mind," said Mike in a bored sort of voice.

"Of course!" Frank said, much more enthusiastically.

"It'll be fun!" said Ray.

"You'll be like the younger sister none of us ever had!" said Mikey.

"There you have it," said Gerard. "We all want you to come on tour with us."

"Now all we need is my dad…" I said.

"Need me for what?"

We all jumped as we looked up and saw my dad standing in the doorframe, apparently having just arrived back.

"Uh, guys?" I said, speaking to the band. "Can I talk to my dad real quick?"

Gerard nodded once and they all stood up and silently left the room. Frank was last and as he shut the door he gave me an encouraging thumbs up.

"Whatcha need?" Dad asked as he sat down at the foot of my bed. I straightened up and looked him in the eye, taking a breath.

"The band has asked me to go on tour with them," I said simply.

Dad's eyes widened. "Did they?"

"Yes. And I really want to go. My shoulder will be healed in about a day. That should be long enough for us to prepare and plan. That is, if I can go."

He sat quietly for a moment, pondering this. When he looked back at me, there was worry in his eyes.

"Ara, you're a 15 year old girl. You would be on a tour bus with 5 grown men, who are much stronger than you, who could easily…" he trailed off at the end.

It took my brain a few seconds to realize what he meant. Then anger and repulsion boiled up inside me. "DAD! They would never, EVER do ANYTHING like that! All of them are married, and Frank and Gerard have kids! Why would you even think that?"

He looked at me, no shame in his eyes. "I'm just trying to watch out for my little girl."

I huffed, but I calmed down a bit. Of course, he was just being overprotective. "Dad, you remember 2 years ago, when I was so depressed and sad?"

He nodded, grimacing. Speaking about that time always brought up bad memories.

"Well, then, you know that My Chemical Romance the very thing that saved me. The depression was a monster that was eating me from the inside out. They destroyed that monster and built up my strength. They taught me to be myself. They saved my life, and my soul. Do you honestly think people who can do that would try to take advantage of a 15 year old girl?"

He shook his head slowly. "No, you're right. But there are still a few things we need to set up if your going to go."

I grinned madly as I realized what this meant. "You mean I can go?"

"You can go."

I felt like jumping up, dancing, and singing at the top of my lungs. Instead, I calmly regained my composure. "Okay, let's talk about this with the band. Gerard? Guys? You can come in now!"

By how quickly they walked in, it was apparent that they had been outside the door, listening the entire time. There faces showed that they were embarrassed about being caught eavesdropping, but all of them were smiling, even Mikey!

The entire afternoon, we made plans. The more we talked about it, the more real it felt. I got more and more excited as the conversation went on. After we had made all necessary plans and arrangements, it was nearly 10pm and the hospital was about to close to visitors. Each member of the band gave me a small hug before leaving, which made my fangirl heart want to do cartwheels through my chest.

After the band was gone, I thanked Dad about a thousand times. He smiled and ran a hand through a strand of my hair that was still curled from where Gerard had turned me into Helena that morning, and left the room, turning off the light.

I couldn't believe all that had happened in one night and one day. I couldn't believe I had been shot only last night. Now, I was going on tour with My Chemical Romance. I smiled widely as I drifted off into sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Preperations

"Look alive, sunshine," someone said softly, close to my face. My eyes flashed open and I jumped. Three inches form my face was Gerard, a huge smile on his face. I glared at him in annoyance and pushed his face away gently with one hand.

"Don't _scare_ me like that! I thought some murderer had snuck into my hospital room!" I said scoldingly. Gerard laughed and stood up straight. Now that he wasn't blocking my vision, I could see that the other band members were there too. Mikey and Gerard were, of course, holding steaming cups of coffee.

Gerard sat down. "So," he said. "Today's the day! You get to start touring with us tonight."

"I know," I replied sleepily. "I'm so excited!"

Just then, a nurse walked in. "Mr. Way, would you and your friends please leave for a moment while I examine Ara?" she said, not very kindly.

"Not at all," responded Gerard, much more politely. They stood and left. The nurse examined my shoulder and made me do several tests for my head. After she was done, she looked at me and said "Well, good news! You should be able to be released at about 8pm this evening."

I sighed. Thank goodness. I was going to go insane if I had to stay in this bed much longer.

"I'll come back around 5 so we can do some quick physical rehab, make sure everything's okay," she said as she walked out. The band came back in.

"So you're good to go?" said Ray.

"I can go at eight!" I said happily. The band commented on this excitedly.

The time dragged slowly as 8 'o clock drew nearer. I spent the day chatting with the band and making a list of stuff I would need from my house that I would pick up after being released. When 5 o' clock came, the nurse came back and helped me slowly get out of bed, which was unnecessary because my head felt fine. They made me move my arm around different ways and move my head back and forth. I was perfectly fine, though I would need to keep my arm in a sling for about a week so my shoulder could continue healing. They removed the cast and let me go back to my room.

Two hours later, I was fitted with a sling and ready to go. I said a quick and temporary goodbye to the band. I would be seeing them soon. My dad led me out to the car and we started home.

Once at my house, I flew up the stairs and packed as quickly as I possibly could, grabbing all my clothes that fit and all my toiletries and makeup. I packed a backpack with DVDs, my computer, chargers, flat iron, and all the money in my piggy bank. I was done in about 15 minutes. I raced back down the stairs and shoved my bags in the car.

"Ready?" Dad said.

"Oh yes," I replied.

We drove back to the hospital where the tour bus was parked. I was so excited to see the bus, I couldn't stand it. I would be living in a small space with my favorite people in the entire world. It was the most amazing feeling of joy and anticipation.

When we got to the parking lot, the band and the bus were waiting for us. I hopped out of the car and snatched up my bag. This was it!

Dad came around and hugged me. I hugged him back, knowing I wouldn't see him for a while.

"I'll call you every other day," I promised him.

"Make sure you do! I'll miss you, kid." Dad said.

"I'll miss you too," I said.

He smiled. "You better get going. The band won't wait forever."

"Thanks, Dad. I love you," I said, starting to walk away.

"Love you too, Ara."

I turned away from him and walked towards the band, who were waiting outside the bus. Dad started the car and beeped the horn in farewell. We all waved as he drove off.

"So," Gerard said as Dad drove away. "Ready to see your temporary home?"

****_Sorry, this was an uneventful, but necessary chapter. Next two chapters will be better! Please review! Thanks for reading! 3_


	7. Chapter 7: Starting a New Chapter

************Ahem. A disclaimer. I DO NOT OWN MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE IN ANY WAY WHAT SO EVER. Hope any of you that were for some reason worried about this are now happy. Now, on with the story.

"Uh, yeah!" I said excitedly, grinning.

"Well come on then," Gerard said, taking my bag. I followed him and the rest of the band on to the solid black tour bus.

I stepped onto the bus and gasped. It was better than I had imagined! The door to the bus was at the front, so the entire tour bus was spread out to my right. Directly beside me was the main part of the bus, and contained two couches, a TV, and a small table. Just past that room was a tiny kitchen built into one of the walls. It was nothing more than a sink, a mini fridge, a microwave, and a few cabinets, but I guessed it was enough for the band… and now me. Past the kitchen were the bunks. There were 6, two in the wall on the left, two more on the right, and two in the direct middle.

"This one will be yours," said Gerard, indicating the bottom bunk on the left. He placed my suitcase on the bed and I sat my backpack beside it. I looked past the bunk area and gasped softly. I walked towards the room in a trance. It was the music/recording room. There was a small, L-shaped couch built into one side and a small desk on the other. Guitars, speakers, and microphones were strewn about the room. An impressive- looking laptop was on the desk, open to show a high-tech, music-mixing program. I placed one of my hands on the arm of a couch. This was where My Chemical Romance made their songs. A room dedicated to saving lives.

I turned and looked behind me. I saw the band looking at me. I ducked my head, knowing I looked like an obsessive fangirl, gawking over their tour bus.

"I, um, like the bus," I said, not knowing what else to say.

"Smell's not so great, but you get used to it," Frank said.

"I hadn't noticed," I replied. I really hadn't. I took a small sniff, concentrating a bit. It basically smelled like 5 sweaty band members had been living on the bus for a while. Not a necessarily pleasant smell, but it was tolerable.

"Bathroom's there," Mikey said, indicating a small door I hadn't noticed.

"Cool," I said awkwardly.

"You hungry?" asked Gerard. "Not sure what we have, but I'm sure we could find something…"

"No, I ate before I came," I said, not wanting the band to fuss over me.

"Okay. Just let me know if you need anything," he said.

I yawned. "Actually, I think all I need now is sleep. The hospital gave me some painkillers and I think that they are starting to make me drowsy."

"Okay, well we'll see you in the morning." replied Gerard. The rest of the band wished me goodnight and I slipped off into my bunk, drawing the curtain over the entrance.

I put my suitcase on the floor and took my laptop out of my bag, placing it on my lap. I turned it on and automatically went to a Mychem meme website. I scrolled through all the new pictures, stifling laughs on the more clever ones. One hilarious one was a picture of Mikey smiling, the caption was "Lol guise, I was just Kobra Kidding". On this, I actually let out a laugh, that I quickly silenced. I listened to hear if any members of the band were coming. Satisfied that nobody was, I went back to my pictures. Big mistake.

As soon as I had gone back to my laptop, someone flung them self into my bunk, not bothering to pull away the curtain. I screamed, surprised.

"Watcha looking at?" Frank said, grinning like a madman, pulling my laptop to him.

"You. Freaking. SCARED ME!" I said, outraged.

"Welcome to life with the band!" he said happily. He looked at my screen. He scrolled through a few pictures, laughing. "Is this what our fans do in their spare time?"

"Pretty much," I answered.

Frank scrolled through a few more, still lying right next to me. He eventually slid my laptop back over to me. "You better go to sleep soon, Ara. We have a concert tomorrow." He winked at me, and then rolled out of my bunk. I shook my head. This life was going to take some getting used to. Taking Frank's advice, I looked at a few more memes, and then shut off my laptop. I laid in my bunk, thinking of the events that had happened over the last two days. Joy, then tragedy, then joy again. It was confusing and maddening, but incredible and amazing too.

With this thought in my head, I fell asleep to the sound of the band talking in the main room and the sound of the tour bus tires against the road.


	8. Chapter 8: The Basics

"Look alive, sunshine!" Gerard shouted from the main room. I sat up best I could in my bunk and stretched happily. I smiled, realizing that the first thing I was going to hear when I woke up (for a while) was Gerard's voice. I tugged on my sling and pulled back the curtain, sliding out of bed. I walked sleepily to the main room where the rest of the band was sitting. There was an empty spot next to Mikey on one of the couches, so I flopped myself down next to him.

"Morning, everyone," I said. The band responded with cheerful good mornings. I pulled my legs up on the couch and pulled them under me. "So what's on the agenda today?"

"We're gonna mess around for a bit with a new song we're working on, and we'll arrive in Virginia Beach for the concert around eight," Frank said.

"Sounds great!" I said enthusiastically. "Is there any coffee left?"

"Absolutely," Gerard said, starting to get up.

"I got it," I said, getting off the cough and heading to a small kitchen. I found a clean coffee cup in a cabinet. There was just enough coffee left in the tiny coffee machine to fill the mug. I added a bit of creamer and sweetener, then went back to my spot on the couch.

"You're like a coffee pro," Ray said.

I half-smiled. "I used to fix my dad's coffee when I was little."

The band started giving me the basics of tour life.

"We're all basically family. We share everything, as long as you ask. There have been many panic attacks when one of us can't find our eyeliner because someone has taken it!" Gerard said. I laughed, imagining any one of them flipping out over lost eyeliner. "We also sleep in each others bunks. We'll never sleep in yours, of course," he added reassuringly. "I just wanted to let you know, in case you hear us moving around at night."

"We're also really loud," Frank said.

"Ha! I'll bet you can't even come close to what me and my friends are like," I replied. "Loudness doesn't bother me at all."

"We almost never have a lot of food," Mikey added. "But you're welcome to anything we might have."

I narrowed my eyes and raised an eyebrow. "I might have to change that," I said mischievously.

"We are also absolute pigs," said Ray. "We never clean anything."

"I'm a complete neat freak. The bus will be sparkling in probably about a week," I said.

"Yay," Mike said softly from his spot beside Frank, diagonally from me. I still had a weird feeling about the guy. He never really talked and he seemed to be judging me nonstop with his eyes. I pushed away the feelings for the sake of the rest of the band. I didn't want to ruin this.

"Our drivers name is Larry. He basically does his own little thing up there in the driver's compartment. We only talk to him when we get to concerts and stuff," Frank said nonchalantly.

"Well, that's pretty much it," said Gerard. "The other stuff is mostly self explanatory."

"If you have a question about something, just ask one of us. Remember, we're all just like family. And now we have a sister," Mikey said, wrapping an arm around me and squeezing me gently.

"Thanks guys," I said, meaning it. We sat for a few more minutes talking, Mikey, Gerard, and I sipping on our coffee. Then I noticed something. "Hey, you guys aren't smoking." I didn't mean it harshly, but it seemed odd.

"Your dad told us you were allergic to cigarette smoke," Gerard said, sounding mildly surprised.

"Only a little. It wouldn't affect me if you just cracked the window open a bit while you smoked. I'm fine, seriously."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay," he said, turning and opening the window behind the couch slightly then lit a cigarette. I clenched my teeth together as all the health lessons on the dangers of smoking flashed through my head. I forced the thoughts away.

"Ok guys, I'm going to get dressed. Thanks for the coffee."

"No prob," Gerard responded. I saw that the rest of the members of the band had lit cigarettes. All the smoke was being funneled out the window, so I was okay. I turned and went to my suitcase pulling out clothes, toiletries, and makeup. I brought all of it into the small bathroom and got ready. I finished in about 30 minutes and went back to my bunk, pulling out my laptop again to work on some Harry Potter fanfiction I was writing for my friend. I could hear the band working on their song. After a few hours I heard a call from the music room.

"Hey Ara? Wanna be the first one to listen to our new song?"


	9. Chapter 9: Tour Life

***_Yay, long chapter! Its been a while since I've updated. Hope this makes up for it! :)_

"Uh, yeah!" I said excitedly and leaped out from my bunk. I practically ran to the music room, but tried to appear calm once I had reached it. It didn't work very well. The band laughed at my enthusiasm and I felt myself blush as I reached for the pair of headphones Ray was handing me. As I started to put them in, I froze, remembering what Ray had said when he called me. _First fan to hear the new song_… I forced down my fangirly-ness and put on the headphones. Ray pushed play on the laptop.

Loud, beautiful rock music poured into my ears. The guitars played a sort of melancholy tune as the drums beat powerfully in the background. I noticed the band was looking at me. To keep from having to look back, I closed my eyes to look like I was really into the music (which I was). Suddenly, Gerard's stunningly heartbroken voice poured through the headphones. I forced myself to listen to the lyrics.

Gerard was pouring out his heart about how the world was so dark and how his dependence on drugs and alcohol had corrupted his life. Then suddenly, after a few verses, the tone of the music changed. The guitars took up a more energetic, hardcore melody. The drums sped up and so did the vocals. Gerard was now singing about a person who saved him and brought him into the light, showing him the beauty of the world. As the song progressed, I realized the person who he was singing about represented the band members, his family, and (most importantly, the song emphasized) the fans. The song came to a close on a victorious sounding note.

I took off the headphones and opened my eyes slowly. I stood there a moment in shock.

"So… did you like it?" Frank asked, breaking the silence.

"That was AMAZING!" I said. My eyes turned a bit misty as I thought about the lyrics that were about thanking the fans for holding Gerard and the rest of the band together through hard times. "It was so great that you guys wrote a song thanking everyone for helping you guys out."

"You picked up on that?" Gerard said, surprised. "Smart girl," he said, nodding appreciatively.

I turned to Mike. "Your drumming was awesome! I haven't heard you play on a recording yet, and it was great!"

He shrugged noncommittally in response. Realizing I wasn't going to get anything else out of him, I turned back to the rest of the band. "It truly was amazing, guys. The fans will love it."

They thanked me for the compliments and I retreated back to my bunk. I let the shock I was holding back wash over me as I walked back. I had just been the very first fan to listen to a new My Chemical Romance song… and this probably wouldn't be the last time that happened. I smiled happily as I opened my laptop again.

Later that day, early in the afternoon, the band finished tweaking the song and came to sit in the main room. I joined them, sitting like I had that morning, next to Mikey.

"So guys," Frank said, sounding mischievous. "Guess what I found out about Ara." Oh, god. I knew what was coming.

"What…?" Gerard said, a small warning in his voice.

"She looks at memes of us for hours on end," he said proudly, as if he had just presented an extremely important piece of information.

"I don't look at them for 'hours on end'," I defended. I noticed Ray snickering quietly. Mike was hiding a smile with his hand. I could even feel Mikey beside me shaking slightly with tremors of silent laughter.

"Suuure you don't," said Gerard, laughing too. I got annoyed.

"You know what else I like looking at? Sexy Frerard fanfictions," I said triumphantly.

The smiles dropped from Frank and Gerard's faces. They tried desperately to scoot away from each other on the small couch, not realizing it had been a joke. This caused me to almost double over in laughter at their reactions. I heard the other guys laughing along with me. When I had regained myself a bit, Mikey even held up a hand for a high five, which I gladly returned. Frank and Gerard relaxed a bit, still scowling.

After we had recovered, I asked about the amount of food on the bus.

"I think we have a loaf of bread, some chips, and some water and coffee. And of course there's beer, but that's for us, obviously," said Gerard. I was a bit confused at this mention of Gerard drinking, but I remembered he did occasionally have a drink, but he hadn't gotten drunk in over 7 years.

"We have some serious shopping to do," I said sternly.

"We have some time before the concert. Traffic was better than we thought. We might be able to stop somewhere," said Mikey hopefully, looking at Gerard for approval.

Gerard sighed. "Okay."

"Yes! We get FOOD!" said Frank happily.

"I'll go tell Larry to stop at the closest supermarket," said Ray, standing up and walking to the driver's compartment.

"We need to pool money, as we are completely broke," said Mikey. We did, placing the money on the small table in the center of the room. Each band member gave about $10 and I got $15 from my bag. 30 minutes later, Larry pulled into a supermarket parking lot. The band pulled on hoodies (so that they hopefully wouldn't be recognized and pestered by fans) and we headed in to the store. An hour and $65 later, we were walking back towards the bus with loads of food, cleaning supplies, and other necessities. Gerard had gotten more eyeliner and costume make up and Mikey had gotten more flat iron protectant for his hair. I laughed at the people giving them odd looks as they had searched intently through the cosmetics.

We put everything away, keeping out a few snacks, and soon we were back on our way to Virginia Beach for the concert. As I chewed some fruit snacks, I asked them the question that had been nagging me throughout the day.

"Where will I be during the concert?" I asked softly.

"Backstage, of course," Gerard said. "You'll be right by the stage so you can see the whole thing. You can tell us what we need to work on."

"Okay, sounds great," I said, settling back into the couch and sighing silently, content. Tour life was going perfectly.


	10. Chapter 10: Pre-concert questions

_****Hiya, guys! Sorry it's been so long since last chapter. Hope these two new chapters make up for it! Please review_! Thanks for reading!

After a few hours of chatting and snacking, Gerard stood up from his spot on the couch and stretched.

"We're about two hours from Virginia Beach. I had better start getting ready," he said, then headed towards the bunks.

"It takes you _2 hours_ to get ready?" I asked him as he walked away.

"On a good day," he responded over his shoulder before disappearing into the tiny bathroom.

"Gerard's a freaking princess. He's gotta look purty on stage!" said Frank with a laugh. I smiled at Frank's carefree teasing. He was just too crazy for his own good.

Then again, I was the one who had stepped in front of a bullet aiming for someone I didn't even personally know.

Thinking of this arose a question in my mind. I stood, stretching, and fetched my laptop from my bunk. As I grabbed it from my bag, I could hear Gerard humming a Mindless Self Indulgence song in the bathroom. I grinned as I walked back to my spot next to Mikey. I flipped open the computer and typed "Gerard Way nearly shot" into the search engine. Instantly, hundreds of news reports about "the lead singer of My Chemical Romance nearly being shot by a man disguised as a fan" but being "saved by an over-enthusiastic, yet heroic fan" popped up on the screen. I shut the laptop, satisfied.

"What was that for?" Mikey asked beside me.

"I wanted to find out if people knew about… the incident," I responded, choosing my words carefully.

"Of course they know. It's a serious thing to have someone running around trying to kill people," Ray said solemnly.

"And then having the victim of the crazy killer be saved by a 15 year old girl," Frank added cheerfully. As always, Mike sat there silently next to him.

"Yep," I said, not knowing how to respond.

"Hey, show them some of those memes you were looking at last night, Ara," Frank said. "A lot of them were really funny."

"Ok," I said with a laugh. I opened up my laptop and found my favorite website for MCR memes. I pushed the computer towards Mikey so it was half on his lap, half on mine. Ray looked over Mikey's shoulder from beside him. I looked up at Mike. "Want to see any?"

"I'm good," he responded, piercing me and judging me slightly with his eyes. I shrugged this off and looked at the screen. I scrolled until I found a few of my favorites. After about 5 minutes, Ray had tears of laughter in his eyes and even Mikey was grinning.

"Our fans are so funny," said Ray. "And just so dang creative!"

"Yep, that's us!" I said, smiling at their reactions. I shut the laptop and set it on the floor, too lazy to put it back on my bunk.

"You want that back on your bed?" Frank asked, gesturing at it.

"Yeah, but I can get it in a minute…" I trailed off as Frank stood up, picking up the computer, and took it to my bunk. "Thanks, Frank."

"No prob," he said as he sat back down. We talked about 30 minutes about the MCR fanbase, when Gerard came out of the bathroom. He had changed into a pair of black skinny jeans and a black-and-white striped long sleeve shirt. His dirty blond, nearly brown hair was carefully tousled and styled. Black combat boots were pulled over his skinny jeans, completing the look. He didn't seem to be wearing any makeup other than a touch of eyeliner, barely noticeable. Though I would have NEVER said it out loud, he looked hot.

"Done, princess?" Frank asked Gerard as he flopped beside him on the couch.

"Yep," Gerard said. I could tell this exchange happened a lot.

"Me next," I declared, heading to my bunk to grab my stuff. I selected a gray v-neck t-shirt with a black rose design on it and some black jeggings. I snatched up my makeup bag and hairbrush and headed into the bathroom. After getting dressed, I realized I had left my hair straightener in my bag. Luckily though, Mikey's was on the counter.

"Hey, Mikey, can I use your straightener?" I yelled.

"Sure!" he yelled back.

"Thanks!" I was really beginning to feel like part of the family the band had created with each other. I turned on the straightener and let it heat up as I did my makeup and thought about the upcoming concert. Who would I meet backstage? Will I be with the band when they do signings afterwards? Will fangirls hate me for touring with the band because they can't? These questions circled endlessly through my head as I finished getting ready. I cleaned up my belongings after tugging my sling back on and stepped out of the bathroom. Back at my bunk, I replaced my stuff and pulled on some black, heeled leather boots I had only worn once. I figured this was a good opportunity to wear them again. I strode out of the bunk area to my spot on the couch.

"You look nice, Ara," said Ray kindly.

"Aww, thanks, Ray!" I responded.

"You guys better get ready too," Gerard said. "It's only 10 more minutes until we get to Virginia Beach, and then we only have a half hour until the concert."

The guys mumbled "okay"s and moved to the bunk area. Ray pulled a curtain from a slit in the wall I hadn't noticed before to form a barrier between the main room and the bunks, so they didn't all have to use the bathroom individually. Gerard and I were alone in the main room.

"So, are you excited about the concert?" he asked.

"Definitely," I said with an enthusiastic nod of my head and a smile.

"I'm glad," Gerard said, sounding genuinely happy with my excitement. "I'm just so worried you aren't enjoying being with us on tour."

"Are you kidding? You guys are awesome, and you've all been so accepting of me," Well, except Mike. I didn't know what that guy's problem was. "I already feel like part of the family!"

"You are part of this family, Ara," Gerard said, his warm hazel eyes soft. "I see you almost as another daughter. Or a sister. Or both, as weird as that might be. In any case, I think you're just what the band needed as an added member. Thank you."

"You're welcome," I whispered, shocked by the statement Gerard had made. I had no idea the band felt this way. I sort of felt like a burden. I guess that wasn't true. I smiled to myself at this thought. I was part of the My Chemical Romance family.

Several minutes later, the bus stopped. The driver, Larry, opened a small window-like panel in the wall between the driver's compartment and the main room.

"Mr. Way? We have arrived at Virginia Beach."


	11. Chapter 11: A New Friend

_**This chapter rated T for language :P_

"Thanks, Larry," Gerard said. "Guys! We're here!"

The other four guys came out of the bunk area, ready for the concert. Mikey was wearing his famous tiger-striped sleeveless t-shirt, Frank was wearing his "Homophobia is gay" shirt (one of my favorite sayings), and Ray's fro looked amazing as always. Mike wore a dark gray t-shirt and leather jacket. His face was more expressionless than Mikey's.

"We're ready!" Frank said as they came out and sat down on the couch.

"Alright then let's go!" Gerard said and stood up. Frank sighed as he stood right back up, making me laugh. My laugh faded as all of my earlier questions swirled even more violently in my head. My stomach fluttered a bit.

Ray opened the bus door and a cool, fresh breeze blew in. I breathed deeply. We had been on the bus for about 24 hours with the windows open occasionally for the guys to smoke. The breeze felt fantastic. We all filed off the bus, except Larry, who drove away as soon as we were off the bus to go park and take a well-deserved nap.

I looked around. We were behind a large building, from what I could tell. There was some fencing and a dumpster against one wall. Several security guards milled about, seemingly unaware of us.

"Over there," Frank said, pointing. A metal door on the wall had a sign that read "Performers and Staff Only". We walked towards it. Gerard opened the door and walked in, exactly like he knew what he was doing. The band and I followed. Immediately after entering, people swarmed into the hallway we had just walked into. I saw several makeup artists, stage directors, agent-type people, and more then a few reporters. Gerard took a step back. I realized that this didn't usually happen to them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on?" Gerard said, holding up his hands.

"Gerard, is it really true you've allowed a young teenage girl to travel with you?"

"Gerard, were you really almost shot by a dangerous individual at your last show?"

Reporters were firing questions at him like bullets, and with each one, Gerard and the rest of the band took a step back towards the door. Then suddenly, a large booming voice said "HEY!"

The crowd parted and silenced as a large, muscular, heavily tattooed man walked down the hall towards us. He wore a name badge that said "George Nitch: Virginia Beach Amphitheater Manager".

I saw Gerard sigh in relief. "Hey, George."

"Hello, Gerard. What the hell is gong on here?" George demanded the reporters with a heavy southern accent.

"We were just… uh…" one reporter stuttered out.

"…leaving," said another. The reporters rushed out of the door, forcing the band and I against a wall.

"That's what I thought," mumbled George.

"George, this is Ara, the girl that saved my life," Gerard said, presenting me like a prize he had won.

"Ah, so I get to meet her," said George, his voice softening. "I have a daughter your age. Big My Chemical Romance fan too. You'll meet her in a few minutes."

"Ok," I said, unsurely.

"We're gonna go to Make-up and then to warm up. Do you want to come with us, or go with George? It's really boring in Make-up and Warm up," said Gerard. "We'll see you in a few minutes anyway.

I smiled at him. "I think I'll go with George. Have fun getting all purtied-up," I said with a wink at Frank.

"Hey, I'm teaching her right," Frank said.

The band went into the closest door on the right with the make-up artists. George led me a bit further down the hall and into a room on the left. It was a sort of office with a desk on one side of the room and a couch on the other. Sitting on the couch was a teenage girl with a pretty face framed by black hair curled into ringlets, with earbuds in her ears, humming.

"Veronica?" George said. The girl looked up with large brown eyes. She took out her earbuds. "This is Ara, the girl traveling with My Chemical Romance. Mind if she stays in here with you for a bit?"

"No, not at all," the girl said smiling. She moved over on the couch to make room for me.

"Thanks," I said, returning her smile.

"I'll be back to get you two when they're about to go on," George said. He patted my shoulder before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. I went and sat beside the girl.

"Hi, my name's Veronica," the girl said, extending her hand.

"Ara," I said, shaking it.

"That's pretty. So you're touring with MyChem?" she said, obvious curiosity in her voice.

"Yeah. Pretty strange, isn't it?"

"And is it true that you… you know… saved…?"

"Yeah," I said. I shifted the sling so I could move the collar of my shirt. I pulled it over, exposing the bright pink scar on my left shoulder. Veronica gasped.

"Are you okay?!"

"I am now," I said, touched by her concern. I shifted the shirt and sling back into place, settling into the couch. "So how long have you been a My Chemical Romance fan?"

"Since I was very little. My dad managed this place back when they first started touring. So, he got to decide if they could perform here or not. They sent him their first album to help him decide and he played it in the car all the time. I loved the music even as a toddler. I couldn't say the whole name of the band, so when I wanted Dad to play the album, I would say 'Daddy, play Romance!' and he would," she said. She seemed very fond of this memory. I thought it was really cool how she had literally grown up with My Chemical Romance. "So how long have you been touring with them?"

"Today is my first full day with them," I replied.

"What did you guys do today?"

I told her about our day shopping and getting ready for the concert.

"Does Gerard really take 2 hours to get ready?"

The time went on like this, Veronica asking me questions, me answering them best I could, until George returned. He seemed glad to find his daughter laughing and talking with me. He led Veronica and I down several hallways until I could start to hear the roar of the crowd. I could hear music (the opening act), but I couldn't tell what band it was. A few more turns and the sounds of the amphitheater became increasingly loud. Eventually, we were directly backstage. I searched through the dimly lit area until I found the band. They were tuning their instruments and practicing. Gerard caught sight of me and jogged over to us.

"Having fun?" he asked me.

"Absolutely," I replied.

"Veronica! You've gotten a lot taller since I saw you last," Gerard said, looking at my new friend. Veronica blushed furiously.

"I'm also 4 years older," she responded, barley audible over the loud music.

"Does that mean I have to sing you Happy Birthday 4 times?" Frank said, appearing beside Gerard.

She giggled. "Please don't!"

Frank took a deep breath. "Happy Birthday to…"

I leapt forward and clamped a hand over his mouth, stifling his singing.

"Thank you, Ara," said Gerard. "I think you just saved us all."

Frank glared at him. I removed my hand and stepped back next to Veronica.

"You're on in less than a minute, guys," George said.

"Thanks, man," Frank said, then sauntered back to the rest of the band with Gerard.

A few seconds later, I heard the opening act finish their song, then leave the stage. An announcer came onto the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up, for My Chemical ROMANCE!"

The crowd went ballistic as the band ran onto the stage, jumping and bouncing across the stage.

"How is everybody?" Gerard yelled. The crowd roared even louder. Gerard talked a minute or so more, getting the crowd excited, then they kicked off the concert with "Planetary (GO!)". Veronica and I watched from the side of the stage, hidden from the crowd. George had gone off to help the sound people and make sure everything went smoothly for the concert. My friend and I screamed and sang along, cheering on the band we both loved. It was nearing the end of the concert when something incredibly unexpected happened. Right after one of the last songs, Gerard shushed the crowd.

"There's something very important I have to share with you guys," he started. "Recently, some motherfucker tried to kill me for no fucking reason. He probably had a lot of shit going on in his life and he just had to take it out on some innocent person. He tried to kill me, but he failed. Because this bad ass motherfucker," he paused and pointed directly at me "saved my life."

The crowd murmured at this news. "I knew it" some said. "Is it that girl?" said others. Everyone was craning their necks to try and get a look at who Gerard was pointing at.

"Come on out, Ara," he said, looking me in the eye. He nodded reassuringly.

I considered for a moment. Then I stepped out onto the front of _thousands_ of My Chemical Romance fans. _Crap._


	12. Chapter 12: Part of the Family

_***This chapter also rated T for language._

My knees shook as I made my way across the stage. I could feel every eye in the crowd on me and my arm (still in the sling), but I kept my gaze on Gerard. I finally managed to reach him without collapsing. I slowly turned to finally look at the crowd. Gerard lightly threw the arm that wasn't holding the microphone over my shoulder, mindful of my injury.

"This is Ara," Gerard said to the crowd. It was so silent you could hear a pin drop in the auditorium. "She stepped in front of a fucking _bullet_ just to save me. And she didn't do it for me… she did it for all of you. She did it so My Chemical Romance could keep saving kids lives. She was amazing! But I swear… don't ANY of you… EVER… FUCKING... DO THIS… AGAIN!" The silence broke and the crowd laughed and cheered. "Give it up for Ara!" Gerard said, releasing me and holding out his arms dramatically towards me. The crowd roared even louder, making me blush. Gerard nudged me, telling me I could go back to backstage. I breathed a tiny sigh of relief. As I walked off the stage though, I smiled shyly at the crowd and raised m hand in a tiny farewell. The crowd went wild and I saw thousands of flashes going off as my picture was taken by fans. I dropped my hand and lowered my head, returning to stand next to Veronica, whose mouth was agape.

"You… you just… YOU WERE JUST ON STAGE WITH MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE!" she practically shouted with glee.

"Yeah, I guess I was," I replied, trying to sound enthusiastic, but I truly felt drained. I usually didn't get stage fright, but standing in front of that many people was intimidating. And a few questions still remained: Were there fangirls that hated me for touring with MCR? Are there people that wished I hadn't lived when I took that bullet for Gerard, for whatever reason? I was vaguely aware of the band finishing their last song. The crowd gave a final cheer as the band exited the stage and walked towards me.

"You all right there, kiddo? You look kinda green," said Frank.

"Yeah, I'm ok," I replied. "Just a little stage fright I guessed."

"I shouldn't have brought you up there without asking first," Gerard said, worry and regret on his flushed and sweaty face.

"No, no, it's fine, Gerard," I replied quickly. "It just… surprised me."

"Oh ok. We'll give you a warning next time," Gerard said with a wink, his face lightening.

"Well, yeah," said Ray, who was standing next to Gerard. "We have to spread your awesomeness throughout our entire fanbase!"

I blushed. "Ok."

The band, Veronica, and I all started walking together back down the halls to the exit. When we finally reached the hallway we entered in, Veronica tapped me on the shoulder.

"Here," she said, handing me a slip of paper. I unfurled it and saw it was a phone number. "Keep in touch, ok?"

I smiled. "Of course! I have to keep in touch with my first friend I met on tour!" I gave her a quick hug and then turned back towards the door. Gerard was leading the way, his hand already on the doorknob.

"Tell your dad we said thanks! See ya next time!" he said over his shoulder. Veronica waved to the band as Gerard slowly opened the door.

The door must have been soundproof, because as soon as Gerard opened it, a wave of noise flooded my ears. Hundreds of cheering fans stood behind the door, barely contained by security guards. They made a small path, just wide enough for the band and I to get through one behind the other.

"Come on through!" yelled one of the heavily muscled security guards. Gerard lead the way, the band and I trailing behind. The fans cheered with deafening sound. As I looked at them, many held signs that said things like "I 3 MCR!" "Gerard Way is my dark angel!" "SING till you're NUTS!" and one random one that said "Mikey Way's coffee!" As we kept pushing through though, I noticed other signs: "Thanks for saving him!" "Super Ara saves the Sass God!" "Human shield: Activated!" I grinned as we finally made it to the edge of the crowd, where our tour bus was waiting. Gerard pulled open the door and we all piled quickly inside and collapsed onto the couches.

"Well, that was fun!" Frank said.

"It always is, Frankie, it always is," Ray responded.

"Did anybody else notice Ara's fans?" Mikey said. I nodded, but everyone else looked surprised. They clambered to the window and pressed their faces to the glass as we started to drive off, setting off a loud cheer from the crowd.

"Holy crap!" Frank exclaimed as he sat back down.

"No kidding," said Gerard, looking bewildered. "Our fans are so incredible. Their cheering for a girl who did something amazing for one of their heroes," he looked at me with his hazel eyes, strands of sweat dampened hair plastered to his face. "You truly are something special, Ara."

I blushed. "I guess."

We drove in silence for a few minutes, when suddenly Frank's stomach growled noisily. He laughed. "Guess that concert worked up an appetite!" He walked to the fridge and peered into it. Suddenly, a mischievous smile spread across his face. He slowly extracted a can of whipped cream from the depths of the fridge.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gerard flinch away from the kitchen area, squishing Mike against the side of the couch. "Oh no, not agai-" He was cut short by a stream of whipped cream hitting him square in the face. Frank had moved to the couch so quickly, I hadn't seen him. He laughed evilly, a huge grin on his face, as he spun around and shot some of the sweet substance straight at Ray. Most of it landed on his face, but a small amount stuck in his hair by his forehead.

"You got it on my FRO? Oh, it is ON, shortstack!" He darted to the fridge, and snatched up a can of Cheez Whiz. Frank ran to the other side of the room. Ray aimed a stream of cheese at Frank, but he dodged it, sending the cheese right onto Mikey. Mikey stood up and wiped the glob from his face and threw it at Frank, who dodged it again. It hit Mike squarely on the chest. Eventually, everyone was standing up except me. I rolled to the opposite end of the couch, away from the food fight breaking out, shaking with laughter. All of the guys were flinging Cheez Whiz and whipped cream all over each other and occasionally squirting some of it directly into their mouths. At some point, Gerard, Cheez Whiz smearing half his face, noticed me cowering on the couch.

"Oh no you don't…" he said and grabbed my uninjured arm. I squeaked in surprise and laughed as I realized what was coming. Gerard pulled me into the center of the group so all 5 band members were surrounding me. There was a half a moment of dead silence, with nothing but the sound of the tour bus tires rolling on the asphalt. "Get her!" Gerard yelled. The guys yelled in triumph and they assaulted me with the sprayable snacks. I threw up my hands, but I knew it was hopeless. I laughed as my entire body was covered in whipped cream and Cheez Whiz. "It's ON now!" I shouted and snatched a can from Frank's hand.

Our food fight continued for another half hour. When all the foods were gone, we cleaned off and collapsed onto the couches, exhausted. I fell asleep with my head on Mikey's chest, his arm around me protectively. One thing was for sure: I truly belonged in this new family.


	13. Chapter 13: Morning Chats

_Note from the author (you can skip this if you wish): Hello, MCRmy. I'm sure you've all heard of the devastating break up of our beloved My Chemical Romance. I have but one thing to say to you all: March On! In the words of our god Gerard Way, "My Chemical Romance is done. But it can never die. It's alive in me, in the guys, and it's alive inside all of you. I always knew that, and I think you did too. Because it is not a band- it is an idea." So keep MCR alive, Killjoys. We still have the music. We still have the idea. We still have the love. And we still have each other. March on, and never let them take you alive! –with love, MistyNinja_

_P.S. I would also like to note that this is about where my dream ended. The rest of the story will be straight from my imagination. Hope you enjoy!_

I awoke to the sound of the persistent ring of my cell phone. I sat up slowly and realized I was in my bunk, my sling and shoes removed and placed neatly on the floor beside my bed. I smiled sleepily at the realization that one of the guys must have done this for me. My phone rang again, insistently. I reached over to my bag and plucked it from the side pocket.

"Hello?" I said softly into it as I stood up from my bunk. The guys were each in their respective bunks, fast asleep. I moved quietly to keep from waking them.

"Ara," said my dad's voice from the phone. "You never called me!"

"I'm sorry, Dad," I whispered as I moved in to the main room, pulling the hidden curtain out from its slot in the wall. "We fell asleep after the concert."

"Concert?" my dad said questioningly.

"Yeah," I replied as I sat down on one of the couches. I told him about the previous day, starting with our shopping trip and ending with the concert. "…and afterwards we were so tired, we fell asleep as soon as we got on the bus."

"Sounds like you're having fun," he said.

"I am. The guys are really inclusive: I'm practically family now!"

"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Just promise you'll call more, ok?"

"Ok, I will."

We said goodbye. As soon as I had hung up, the curtain twitched aside and a bedraggled Gerard came through.

"Good morning, Ara," he said sleepily as he shuffled to the coffee pot.

"Good morning, Gerard. Did I wake you up?"

"Oh no, you're fine," he said as he measured out the coffee grounds. "Sleep ok?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Did you move me to my bunk last night?"

"Nah, that was Mikey. I think you're his favorite now," Gerard said with a smile. "How's the shoulder?"

"Fine," I said, rolling my injured shoulder to test it. "It's a bit sore. I'll get my sling after everyone's up. I wouldn't want to wake anyone."

Gerard finished filling the coffee maker. He sat on one of the couches and patted the spot beside him. I sat down next to him and we talked about the concert the night before as we waited for the coffee. I was only half listening. I was really thinking about how Gerard looked. He wore a faded Iron Maiden t-shirt and black flannel pajama pants. His dark blonde hair was ruffled from sleep. His eyeliner from the previous night was smudged around his hazel eyes, making them look large and making the gold flecks stand out. I realized suddenly he was looking at me expectantly. He had asked me a question I hadn't heard.

"Sorry, what?" I said, snapping out of my reverie.

Gerard laughed softly. "Still asleep, sunshine? I asked you how you liked being on stage."

"Oh," I said quietly. "It surprised me. There were so many people. I didn't really know how to react."

"Well, I think you did great," he said with a smile. "The wave was a nice touch."

"Thanks."

I heard a small rustling noise and looked up. Mikey came through the curtain and looked at us, bleary eyed. "Do I smell coffee?" he asked sleepily.

"Yep. It's almost ready, little bro," said Gerard. Mikey came and sat down on Gerard's other side.

"G'morning, Ara," Mikey said.

"Morning, Mikey. Thanks for moving me to my bunk last night."

"No problem."

A soft beeping noise came from the coffee machine, indicating that the coffee was ready. Gerard immediately stood up and fixed three mugs, then sat back down. I clutched the mug he'd handed me, letting the warmth flow into my fingers. After several minutes of sitting peacefully with Gerard and Mikey, the curtain moved again and the other three men emerged, half asleep.

"Good morning, everyone," Gerard said cheerfully. The three other guys grumbled "good morning"s. Frank cracked a window and lit a cigarette. Soon the other guys followed suit.

"So where are we headed tonight?" Ray asked, blowing a smoke ring that was quickly sucked out the window.

"Charlotte, North Carolina," Gerard responded.

"What time?" Frank asked, also trying to blow a smoke ring. Unlike Ray's, Frank's ring was a little misshapen and looked more like a smoke potato. He sighed as it was drawn out the window.

"Eleven."

"Awesome. I like later shows. They're more exciting," Ray said enthusiastically. "The fans are typically more pumped."

"Yeah, because they're all hopped up on sugar so they won't be tired," I said. I tilted back my coffee cup and took the last swallow. I stood up and placed the cup in the tiny sink beside the coffee maker. "I'm going to get changed."

I decided not to put on my clothes for the concert just yet, so I grabbed a t-shirt, a pair of sweatpants, and my sling and headed to the bathroom. I sighed as I looked the mirror. Unlike Gerard, my smeared eyeliner made me look like a surprised raccoon rather than a sexy rock star. I washed the makeup from the previous night from my face and threw on the t-shirt and pants. I quickly ran a brush through my hair, then tugged on my sling.

I gazed into the mirror again, studying the face and body I used to hate. I held up the arm that wasn't in the sling. In the bright light of the bathroom, I could see the faint, thin, white scars that covered my wrists. I thought of the anger and hate I had had for myself as I made the wounds that turned into those scars. I thought of the music and the message that had taught me to love myself and accept my flaws. I thought of the people who had created that music and message. They were right on the other side of the door. I took a deep breath and lowered my arm. Grabbing my clothes and shutting off the light, I walked out of the bathroom. As soon as I tossed my stuff onto my bunk, I felt my phone vibrate. Taking it out of my pocket, I saw it was a text from one of my friends.

**"Look up your name on the internet right now! You're famous!"**


End file.
